Metapontum

Metapontum was an Achaean colony founded around 630 BC on the Gulf of Taranto in Basilicata, southern Italy, becoming one of the most prosperous cities of Magna Graecia. Its economy rested on agriculture across roughly 200 square kilometres, with over 850 small farms identified by archaeologists. The most prominent surviving monument is the Temple of Hera (Tavole Palatine), a 6th-century BC Doric temple with 15 of its original columns still standing. The philosopher Pythagoras spent the latter part of his life here. The city declined after Lucanian attacks in the 4th century BC and was destroyed for siding with Hannibal during the Second Punic War.